Shared Illusions

Yesterday, Tuesday the 10th, we took a long walk along the Loire, from Tours to Rochecorbon. It was sort of like being on the Chemin, as the route follows the GR 3, a Chemin to Chartres. We did not see anyone that looked like pilgrims, though there were many bicyclists.

We left the riverside to go through the village of Saint-Georges and saw homes carved into cliffs.

Do you remember calling someone who was hopelessly out of tune with whatever was current a ‘troglodyte’? That’s the term for ancient peoples who lived in caves or dens.

Rochecorbon seems like a great alternative to living in Tours. It’s a pretty quick walk, especially if you stay riverside. The bike trail is paved and makes an easy bike ride. The village center is small. The homes and properties around were clean and good looking.

Another great day trip today was to Chinon by train. Larger than Rochecorbon, smaller than Tours, and also on a river, La Vienne. Wouldn’t mind living here, especially since it’s on a train line – one hour to Tours, Tours to Paris is an hour and 15. A charming town, “Every street corner resembles a painting from the fifteenth century…” said Henri Guerlin in 1911. That holds true today.

We had a late start and so didn’t spend as much time in the town as we could have. The fortress took up a lot of time and included a free wine dégustation. Plus which we were hungry, but it was too early, 5:30, for the restaurants to be open. Smaller towns abide by the hours of service, whereas cities do not.

A trick from the French to stave off hunger until the dinner hour – have something sweet like ice cream or a pastry. It really works.

Lest you think our diet consists of bread and pastry, a word about peaches. They are so good here! And beautiful.

On the plate with the peaches is Charlie’s brainstorm for using up some food items: bread, eggs, cream, yogurt, and blue cheese. We made a mix of the wet ingredients and soaked bread cubes in it overnight. Then we put blue cheese on top and slow cooked it on a low burner. (These small apartments rarely have ovens.) Result – a savory French toast for breakfast.

We often create novel dishes when traveling. Pasta often, as it lends itself to easy sauces. Last night I came up with a sauce of butter, cream, yogurt, blue cheese, paté. The paté had walnuts in it. With a side of spicy provençal olives…yum!

We leave Tours today for 3 nights in Paris, home on Tuesday the 16th.

A friend asked if I had a difficult time transitioning from Chemin to touring. Yes. It wasn’t as critical as last fall though, perhaps because we were on Chemin for 31 days vs 12 last fall.

Still, I do miss the ease of meeting people and having conversations  in French. I miss the small towns – which is why I search them out when staying in a larger city like Tours. We maintain the meditative nature by walking and stopping in churches, cathedrals,  chapels, basilicas.

However, I was quite content in Biarritz – ocean! And we still manage to walk 8-11 miles a day.

Tours has the added bonus of being on the Loire with ample riverside trails, walls to sit on, grassy areas. It is so easy to leave the city behind.

Rest your eyes on that!